Benson County had a good finish to the indoor track and field season.
The girls’ team took second place at the CNDC Indoor at Minot State University on Thursday. The boys took fourth.
New Rockford-Sheyenne also competed and tied for fifth on the boys’ side.
On the same day, Nelson County’s Dagan Slade and a portion of NR-S athletes participated in the Thundering Herd Classic at Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility in Fargo. Slade continued her domination of the shot put, while the Rockets had a few notable performances of their own.
CNDC Indoor
Boys
Team results
Benson County scored 46 points to earn fourth place. Twenty teams placed.
NR-S, Harvey/Wells County and Powers Lake-Burke Central each scored 40 to tie for fifth.
The three teams ahead of Benson County were Rugby (78), Southern McLean (74) and Williams County (64).
Event champions
Benson County senior Grant Engebretson placed first out of six contestants in the pole vault.
He tied his personal best with a distance of 12 feet.
Brayden Herman took first out of four runners in the 3200-meter with a personal-best 11:35.22.
NR-S took first in the 4×160 relay. Koy Zieman, Thomas Allmaras, Easton Benz and Zack Langstaff teamed up to run a 1:17.18, beating 18 other groups.
Other highlights
Benson County’s Herman also placed second out of 20 runners in the 800-meter. He set his personal best as well, running a 2:22.7.
NR-S had 13 of the 129 contestants in the 55-meter dash. The Rockets were led by Allmaras, who placed sixth with a personal-best 6.62. Zieman and Benz also came in the top 20, while Langstaff, Braylon Alfstad, Sawyer Huso and Alex Knatterud were in the top 45.
Langstaff also took second in the 400. Zieman took second in the triple jump.
Allmaras continued his strong day with a sixth-place finish out of 42 contestants in the long jump. Benz was ninth. Allmaras set a personal best of 18’10’’.
Frankie Bellile — from the Four Winds part of the NR-S co-op — was sixth out of 67 contestants in the shot put. Chaztin Wobbema, Neko Herald, Jeremiah White and Kyle Langstaff Jr. also came in the top 30.
Girls
Team results
Benson County’s 89 points were good for second place out of the 18 teams that placed.
The only team ahead was Rugby with 102.5.
Third-place Rolette/Wolford was a sizable distance away from Benson County, with only 58 points.
Event champions
Benson County freshman Kami Arnston won the 800-meter, running a 2:32.4 mark.
It was still about seven seconds short of her personal best, which she set at the Class B state track meet last spring.
Freshman Evyn Jacobson, who had already grabbed two event championships this season, won the 1600-meter for the second time. She ran a 5:51.09 — her personal best for indoor season while still short of her best in the same event during outdoor season.
Keyara Lundstrom took first out of three runners in the 3200.
The Wildcats also had a relay team win first place: Rylan Artus, Kaitlyn Maddock, Lundstrom and Arston in the 4×800 with a time of 11:07.88.
Other highlights
Benson County sophomore Lacie Fautsch took second out of 63 contestants in the shot put.
She recorded a mark of 34’1’’, her best for an indoor season.
Fautsch was a state qualifier in shot put last season. She won first place three different times. Her personal best that she’ll try to chase this season is 35’11’’.
Jacobson, Maddock, Lundstrom and Artus placed second out of seven teams in the 4×400 relay.
There were six placers in the pole vault, and Nos. 2-4 were from Benson County: Kale Williams, Hailey Baker and Jaycee Maddock.
The NR-S girls had a split roster, with the Four Winds portion of the co-op competing in the CNDC while the NR-S portion was in Fargo for the Thundering Herd Classic. The CNDC group was led by Aubrey Adams, who took 24th out of 104 runners in the 55-meter and 13th in the 400.
Thundering Herd Classic
The NR-S girls scored 20.5 points in this meet, coming in ninth out of 20 placing teams.
The NR-S boys did not compete, as they were all at the CNDC.
Rockets junior Emmie Belquist took first in the 60-meter hurdle prelims, then finished second in the finals with a personal-best 9.76.
Belquist, Jaida Schumacher, Ava Peterson and Sadie Knatterud took third out of 27 groups in the 4×200. Belquist, Schumacher, Peterson and Paige Knatterud placed third out of 29 in the 4×400.
Schumacher also took eighth out of 41 contestants in the high jump with a personal-best 4’9’’.
Nelson County only had one contestant in the meet, the junior Slade, but she made it count.
She won the shot put for the third time this season.
According to athletic.net, the ball was 12 pounds as opposed to the usual four kilograms.
Slade’s mark of 43’11.5’’ was marginally shorter than the two she recorded earlier this season. But it was still a farther distance than all of last year’s marks, which led her to a state championship during her sophomore outdoor season.
Her best last year was 43’6’’, with a 43’4’’ at the state track meet. Her best so far this year is 45’3.5’’, set at the USATF Dakotas HS Indoor Championship.
Slade came in first out of 66 placers on Thursday. Her distance was over five feet farther than the next-best contestant.
Slade’s performance was enough for Nelson County to come in 14th place with 10 points, despite no other Chargers competing in the meet. Slade is well on her way to competing for another state championship.
Up next
NR-S is scheduled to conclude its indoor season at the Concordia Snowmergency HS Meet at Concordia College on Tuesday, April 7.
Nelson County’s final indoor meet is set for Friday, April 10 in the Red River Valley Conference Indoor.
Benson County has no more indoor meets scheduled. The first outdoor meet listed is the Carrington Sports Boosters Meet on Tuesday, April 14.
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